Callahan:
“A Tennessee assistant coach is scheduled to visit one of the nation's top prospects in the 2020 class on Tuesday.
Vols tight ends coach
Brian Niedermeyer is planning to travel to Texas on Tuesday to see five-star running back
Zachary Evans of North Shore High School in Houston, one of the top available prospects in the 2020 class, sources told GoVols247 on Monday night.
Earlier this month, Georgia released Evans from the National Letter of Intent he signed with the Bulldogs last month during the Early Signing Period. He appeared to have chosen Georgia over LSU and Texas A&M, and he was set to reveal his decision Jan. 2 at the Under Armour All-America Game in Orlando, Fla.
The 5-foot-11, 200-pound Evans is ranked the No. 14 overall prospect and No. 1 running back in the 2020 class, according to the industry-generated 247Sports Composite.
Evans once planned to be an early enrollee at Georgia, but he now is in the process of exploring other options and still has two remaining official visits that he could use leading up to National Signing Day. He's coming off an official visit to Ole Miss over the weekend.
LSU hosted him on his first official visit the weekend of Oct. 26, and he went on an official visit to Texas A&M the weekend of Nov. 15.
Texas A&M still is believed to be involved with Evans, while Florida is among the other schools that might have interest in getting him on campus over the next two weeks.
According to a report from 247Sports, NCAA rules prevent Evans from signing another NLI during this recruiting cycle, which means he might have to verbally commit to his next school with no official paperwork tying him to that program.
While Tennessee wasn't a contender for Evans in the final months of his recruitment, the Vols hosted him on a brief unofficial visit in late January 2019 during a weekend road trip that allowed him to visit Georgia.
“I was actually surprised by it, because I really thought Tennessee was the country,” Evans told GoVols247 after his trip to Knoxville last year. “But as I got out there, I actually pretty liked it. It’s really a chill spot. Their facility was nice. The facilities were what surprised me the most.”
At the time, Evans said Tennessee had "a great history and tradition of running backs," and Vols coach Jeremy Pruitt's staff told him "how I would play in the offense they have."
“I believe this is their second year with the coaching staff, but when they were at Alabama, they were there with
Derrick Henry," Evans said last year. "They were there helping recruit, so I’m pretty sure they know how to coach a Heisman (Trophy winner).”
